Deutsche Bundesbank together with Deutsche Börse Group and Germany’s Finance Agency have developed and successfully tested a settlement interface for electronic securities. Securities settlement using distributed ledger technology (DLT) is performed with the aid of a trigger solution in TARGET2.

Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has warned against government intervention in the market economy becoming the norm after the coronavirus pandemic,  although it was important for the government to intervene strongly in the crisis. “But this must not become a normal state of affairs. I do not believe that governments know best when it comes to running a business,” he said in an interview with the “Augsburger Allgemeine” newspaper.

Introducing central bank digital currency (CBDC) is not an end in itself, believes Jens Weidmann. Rather, a digital euro needs to provide a clear value added to the citizens of the euro area. “CBDCs should only be issued if the perceived benefits outweigh any potential drawbacks or risks,” the Bundesbank President said in a speech at a virtual conference.

Bundesbank Executive Board member Sabine Mauderer has called on Mittelstand to grasp the opportunity presented by sustainable and digital transformation. “You can demonstrate that sustainability and business success belong together,” Ms Mauderer told business leaders.

Bundesbank Executive Board member Sabine Mauderer speaks about the importance of verifiable and internationally recognised standards for the sustainable transformation of the economy.

Germany’s current account recorded a surplus of €2.5 billion in May 2022, down €6.4 billion on the previous month’s level. Although the surplus in the goods account increased, this was outweighed by the sharp shift into a deficit for invisible current transactions, which comprise services as well as primary and secondary income.